– I’ve got a present for you, – he says in a low, gruff voice.

– What is it? – I peer into his blurred image with interest. He is no longer a boy, he grew up with me, but the man he became did not reveal himself to me.

– This is what you have been eager to have for so long, what you have been dreaming about – He puts sends his palm into the weightless translucent flesh of the cloud and, raising a piece of it, he stretches it to towards me.

– That’s all nonsense. – I shift my glance at a translucent, smoky lump, barely visible to the eye, fit in the open palms of the “invisible friend.”

– Let’s see what you will say in seven days.

– Seven days? I’m already getting interested. But, do you know what?

– What?

– In fact, people do not sit on the clouds, and it is unlikely that your gift will be real. – I stretch my arms to him, then he passes this cloudy lump to me, which, falling down, gets into my hands. It is heavy and weighty, despite its smoky transparency.

– Then, it turns out, that you don’t exist either, because you cannot sit on a cloud either.

“Nonsense, a new crazy joke from my “invisible friend” I thought, having woken up, and quickly got out of bed and was not being fussed about the Delphian dream, but I should have been. The hands of the clock, hanging on the white wall, froze, indicating the beginning of the tenth hour.

– Great, I’ve almost overslept, – I said out loud and went to the shower at a brisk walk.

This May evening was surprisingly cool for the Israeli climate. I did not want to bother my head about the choice of attire. After several sleepless nights fatigue prevented me from thinking rationally. From the back of the chair, standing alone in the corner of the bedroom, I took a short black dress that was on me yesterday, or maybe… well, not maybe, but also the day before yesterday. Having put it on, I felt the smell of male perfume and cigarette smoke absorbed into the fabric.

My mobile phone, which was next to the pillow, made its presence felt at a due time.

– Anna, I’m downstairs, come out, – the weary voice of the driver came.

– All right.

I threw the phone into a large bag filled with the things I needed for work, threw it on my shoulder, sighed and said to myself: I can handle it, fatigue is just a signal sent by my tired brain, and my body is stronger than I think.

It does not matter, whether this statement is true or not, the main thing is that it makes sense to exist, and if you believe in it, it will certainly be so. And I believed in it.

Having approached the car where the driver was waiting for me, I opened the door, threw the bag onto the back seat, then took the front seat and asked him:

– Where are we going?

– Not far from here, just 15 minutes, – he answered, moving the car from a standstill.

The driver’s name is Dani (by the way, he’s a rather attractive young guy). He was eager to get to the heights in the service in the Israel Defense Forces. At the moment, his meager salary was enough only for basic necessities, so he had to take a side job at night.

In Israel, the rhythm of life is crazy, especially in the center, where people have several jobs, forgetting about sleep and rest. They are constantly going somewhere, creating traffic jams, being in a hurry and nervous. Shabbat, according to the Jews faith, was supposed to slow down this endless madness, to give at least one day of peace and quiet during the week, but the power of money turned out to be stronger than faith, and most of those living here worked even on Sabbath.